1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of lower extremity exoskeletons and, more specifically, to the field of lower extremity exoskeletons that decrease their wearer's oxygen consumption and heart rate.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In a wide variety of situations, people of ordinary ability often consume a great deal of oxygen when walking or carrying a load. Certainly, the oxygen consumption and heart rate of a person will vary depending on the amount of physical exertion. In a paper entitled “A QUASI-PASSIVE LEG EXOSKELETON FOR LOAD-CARRYING AUGMENTATION”, International Journal of Humanoid Robotics, 2007, the authors claim to have developed a quasi-passive exoskeleton that increases the walking metabolic cost of transport (COT), as compared to a standard loaded backpack by 10%, while further stating that a similar exoskeleton without joint springs or damping control (zero-impedance exoskeleton) was found to increase the COT by 23%, compared to the standard loaded backpack.
The provision of a quasi-passive exoskeleton, as disclosed in the prior art, is considered to negatively affect certain cardio and other physiological parameters of a user. Therefore, opportunities still exist to provide a compact, easy-to-operate, fast, and general purpose exoskeleton device, particularly such an exoskeleton device that will significantly decrease a person's oxygen consumption and heart rate while the device is being worn.